Amusement washed warm within her as an image flashed through the bond. Destrier, looking quite surprised when her little bit of fancy foot-work left him striking nothing but air. And then there was a rush of satisfaction when he did his best to replicate her manuever during his attempt to dodge the flame that obscured the dagon's-eye view of the inky stallion. That satisfaction was heightened when a pained squeal reached her ears. Hard lessons learned the hard way, I would think.

He faced her again, echoing the positions they had begun in mere moments earlier. Her ears twitched as she noted the fire in his eyes. At last, he was taking things entirely seriously. This was what she'd wanted to test in him, how he would react when pushed to the edge, how he would handle those who worked in tangent with a companion. Though, it did have a little bit to do with the fact that she enjoyed riling stallions up out of an analytical consideration of what to do next. And he behaved much as she expected him to do.

He surged into motion, barreling toward her for a third time. So predictable. Not that I've given him much choice. She didn't wait for him this time. Didn't launch herself at him. Instead she flung herself aside immediately, powerful haunches driving her forward even as her forelegs pushed her to the right. It was a short gap he had to cover to reach her, but she had greater acceleration than the taller, burlier stallion, and she intended to put that to use, make him work harder to chase her down.

But it seemed he'd expected her to not close, and employed the magic that came with his position within the herd. There was no warning, for he used it mid-stride, before the ground shook. It startled her, the unexpectedness of having heretofore steady ground rumble underhoof, and she staggered a couple steps. It was all he needed, evidently, for with a lesser rumble of hooves he bore down on her the way she'd expected him to do before this. Like a runaway freight train he barreled into her, slamming into her haunches. Pain bloomed with the massive bruises that sprung into being across her left hip and haunch. Her unsteady footing from his war stomp and her stagger because of it, left her incapable of doing anything to prevent him sweeping her hind legs out from under her.

With a grunt and an alarmed snort she scrambled desperately with her forehooves while her hindquarters swung around, driven before Destrier's momentum and unable to get purchase on the hard, flat ground. He swept past her as she half fell, weight falling on her already bruised haunches and garnering another pained grunt. But she was up again a heartbeat later, ears laid flat back against her nape as she got her right hind underneath her and only slightly favored her left. Angered by the humiliation of being knocked off her feet, however briefly, she spun to her right, wary of putting too much strain on her already sore left hind. A moment was spared for assessing her injuries, weight shifting to rest evenly on all four hooves, before she determined she would not lame herself through one more attack. Then she flung herself after Destrier, keen to chase him down before he could realize that his last attack had not been quite as effective as he'd planned.

Determination and anger lent her energy and speed as she swept up on his left side, teeth snapping at his shoulder as she swung into him. It was her only concession to her injury, to put it as far away from him as she could. Another burst of speed, a snap at his neck, and she swerved away from him, slowing down with an irrate swish of her tail. Only then did she let herself feel the pain of her injuries fully, limping slightly as she came to a stop, resting her left hind.

(( 672 words, 4/4, 2/2 ))